There's something sweetly sincere about how PEACEFUL WARRIOR sticks to self-improvement. Especially when you consider how often storytellers in and outside of Hollywood tend to conjure up simplistic antagonists -- aliens, drug smugglers, serial killers, vampires, orcs, hostile commie gymnasts from the USSR -- as obstacles for a flawed or uncertain hero to overcome. Dan's conflict is with himself, end of story.
That said, the dialogue is often hokey and preachy, the special effects and soundtrack music work a little too hard to tell viewers things they might have figured out on their own, and the film feels long at 120 minutes. On the plus side, Nolte gives a pleasantly low-key performance as the curmudgeonly Socrates; a lot of his Obi-Wan/Yoda/Master Splinter stuff is pleasantly unpredictable. Will watching Peaceful Warrior make you a better person? That's hard to say, Grasshopper. But it probably won't make anyone worse, and that's something of an achievement.
Families can talk about the goal of inspirational "mentor" tales. What do movies and TV shows that follow this kind of storyline have in common? Who are they trying to reach? Why do you think so many involve sports? Families can also discuss Socrates' sometimes-mixed messages about drinking, fighting, health and discipline, and being "in the moment." A lot of these points are alluded to in other martial-arts flicks, but they're often lost in a fog of kung-fu fighting.
No comments:
Post a Comment